Treasury defends Musk team's access to Federal Payment System

Washington: The Treasury Department said Tuesday that it was not stopping or rejecting federal expenditures and that it was committed to safeguarding the nation's payment system following widespread backlash after Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency was granted access to the system.

In a letter to members of Congress, the Treasury Department said that it was conducting a review of the system to "maximize payment integrity" for agencies and the public. It described the initiative as an expansion of a review that had gotten underway during the Biden administration.

"Treasury has no higher obligation than managing the government's finances on behalf of the American people, and its payments system is critical to that process," wrote Jonathan Blum, a legislative affairs official at the Treasury Department.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has yet to comment on the situation. The letter was the first public comment by the department since the matter came to light last week following the abrupt resignation of David Lebryk, a career official who did not approve of Musk's team accessing the data.

The letter was sent as dozens of protesters gathered outside the Treasury Department building to express their opposition to Musk's involvement in the federal payments system.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrats on the banking and finance committees, called on the Government Accountability Office on Tuesday to begin an investigation into Musk's access to the payment system.

"The process by which Mr. Musk's team obtained access to these systems is troubling -- as are the implications," they wrote.

Critics are concerned that Musk and the Trump administration want to stop payments that were authorized by Congress. There are also concerns about data privacy, Musk's potential conflicts of interest and the possibility of federal funds being mishandled during a standoff over the debt limit that could lead to a US default.

The Treasury Department said in the letter that an official named Tom Krause was working on an "operational efficiency" assessment of the coded data of the Fiscal Service's payment systems.

The letter said that Krause, who is associated with Musk's Department of Government Efficiency team, was working on the initiative with Treasury career staff and that he had the necessary security clearances to perform the role.

"Treasury will continue its efforts to promote efficiency and effectiveness in its operations, and to prevent waste, fraud and abuse," Blum wrote.